The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. Some ICs include bipolar transistor devices. The fabrication of these bipolar transistor devices may involve a silicidation process, in which silicides may be formed on the bipolar transistor devices. However, it is desirable to protect some portions of the bipolar transistor devices so that silicides are not formed on these portions. Existing methods of protecting these portions involve using a silicide blocking layer such as an oxide layer. However, forming the silicide blocking layer may require an additional fabrication process and thus may increase fabrication costs.
Therefore, while existing methods of fabricating bipolar transistor devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.